What is the purpose of democratically-elected representatives? To represent their voting constituents on the floor of their respective House of Representatives. They do this by voting on bills and speaking on the floor.

So what happens when you decide that members of the opposing political party are not allowed to speak on the floor? You destroy what little semblance of democracy remains in this country.

But that’s exactly what Republicans have done recently. After State Representatives Lisa Brown and Barb Byrum spoke out against new legislation against abortions in the Michigan State House, the Republican Speaker of the House declared them immature and claimed they, “failed to maintain the decorum” of the house.

Ms. Brown was speaking about the proposed legislation and finished her speech with, “I’m flattered that are all so interested in my vagina. But no means no.”

Ms. Byrum was similarly, as the House Speaker puts it, “gaveled down” and refused the right to speak on the floor of the house for using the term Vasectomy, in reference to a Democratic counter-attack bill where they want to make Vasectomies fall under the same legal definitions as Abortions and therefore require the same legal pretenses and situations.

Even if you assume that makes some sense, which it really doesn’t I feel, his entire point is decimated by his own follow-up comments to the media outlets originally reporting on the matter:

“House Republicans often go beyond simply allowing debate by welcoming open and passionate discussion of the issues before this chamber,” said the Speaker of the House , “The only way we can continue doing so, however, is to ensure that the proper level of maturity and civility are maintained on the House floor.”

Right there, he started his explanation off by admitting that it was a biased choice. The House of Representatives are supposed to be a ‘group effort’ situation, regardless of how many of each political party are in it.

Just because the Republicans outnumber the Democrats in the house, doesn’t mean that it is not a House of Representatives. By claiming that House Republicans allow debate implies that they have the right to determine how the house functions, which they shouldn’t. A House of Representatives should work with the same rules, regardless of who is in it.

You wouldn’t say that a Magistrate’s Court rules would change based on the judge; it’s always going to be a courtroom with the same administrative systems. A judge can’t say, “I’m a Judge, but I’m a member of the Green Party; so I have relieved the court stenographer to save on paper used. I will also not permit the presentation of evidence that uses evidence tags on non-recycled paper.”

That Magistrate would be booted from office, or at the very least have all of their decisions overturned.

So why are Republican Representatives allowed to decide how a House of Representatives functions? Especially when the goal is to make sure that Democratic women aren’t allowed to speak about Women’s Rights.